The Law Of Tyranny
by Persephone Chiara
Summary: A response to a challenge at the Cheeky Monkeys forum. A dark "What if...?" set within the "Misericordia" universe. After enduring capture, torture, hunger and a death sentence, Rhiannon Cousland faces her accuser for the last time...


**Author's note: **Written as a response to a challenge at the Cheeky Monkey Forum. Write a DA story in less than 10 minutes. It took me 9 minutes and 46 seconds. Yes, I timed it. XD Not beta-ed, so whatever mistakes you may find.. I am to blame. ;)

**The Law Of Tyranny**

"_This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector."_ (Plato)

Every movement was sheer torture; even the natural urge to draw a burning gasp of breath had become sheer agony. Her limbs had somehow withstood the rack; weeks in a damp, filthy dungeon on rations of stale bread and sour ale had led to infection, starvation and constant pain. Sleep, a rare mercy during her freedom, was eluding her entirely and were it not for her iron will, Rhiannon's spirit would have followed Alistair's battered soul into the Fade a long time ago. The poor boy's screams echoed within her troubled mind night and day; his testimony against her under extreme duress no longer mattered at all. While Maric's son's confession in extremis might have stacked the odds in the Regent's favor, Rhiannon found herself unwilling to accept his final, degrading offer: A detailed account of her supposed _treason _in exchange for a quick death. There was nothing left to save, no battles to be fought, no cause worth defending after seeing her life force ripped away from her so cruelly. Death by burning or beheading... One was quicker, cleaner even... The other a messy showcase for the bloodthirsty crowd. As she was musing her impending fate, a key turned in the rusty lock, revealing one of her jailors.

"Whatever you wrote in that letter; the Regent, in his mercy, will grant your request and see you in person," the young man spat in her direction, pursing his nose at the putrid smell surrounding his prisoner.

"With your permission..." Rhiannon eyed him coldly, raising her arm slowly.

"Don't touch me, you traitorous daughter of a harlot!" he sneered, clearly unaware just who he was condemning so callously.

"Will he join me in my palace then?" Rhiannon muttered under breath, a ghoulish grin twisting her lips into an ugly grimace. "And _my _mother was no harlot!"

"Shut up, you bitch!" Burning with both shame and anger, the young soldier recoiled from her; only to lose what little composure Rhiannon's poisonous barb had left him with at the sound of a deep, commanding voice echoing through the chilly cell.

"Out." Loghain ordered, clearly in no mood to deal with a guard abusing yet another prisoner. It was an every day occurance he would lose no sleep over.

"I would welcome you, _Your Grace_, however, your tender treatment of me leaves me incapable of such basic courtesies." Bryce Cousland's daughter, reduced to a pallid shadow of herself, still had the recklessness to jest about her fate. Her skull-ish imitation of a smile followed him intently, her lilac eyes burning with indignation, anger and sorrow.

"I came to hear your confession, Grey Warden, nothing less. Waste my time again and the flames of the pyre will be the next visitors knocking at your door!" he snarled, his pale blue eyes boring into hers. She would not flinch, would not cower at his feet as a traitor begging for mercy ought to. Foolish girl, he grated inwardly, as neither capture nor grave bodily harm had been able to destroy her proud spirit.

"In exchange for what? Life?" Rhiannon cackled dolefully. "Did you offer life to Alistair as well? You would offer me life and I would know that you were lying."

"I can offer you naught but hope for a quick end." Turning his back on her his mind began to ponder just why he felt like he was facing an accuser rather than a broken wretch depending on his mercy.

"My fate is sealed if he who is my accuser also sits in judgment upon me," the Warden declared firmly. "Oh, Loghain, you have lost and it ought to be you begging for a merciful end when the time comes... I doubt that the archdemon understands the idea of mercy however. You once knew...and that is what I cannot forgive. Chain me, torture me, kill me yourself if it pleases you. You will get nothing from me, not even a whimper!" Her voice increased in volume as she spoke, eyes ablaze with fierce abandon.

"Insolent fool!" His hands gripped her arms and, with much screeching of limbs and muscle, pulled her up until their faces were only but a few inches apart. "Your lover has confessed, naming dozens of witnesses!"

"At such a ridiculous accusation, I can but recover my dignity!" Rhiannon whispered sadly. "And I do declare that the embrace of the rack makes a convincing argument!"

"You dare..." His composure was fading away at her obstinate refusal to heed reason. Her deeply set eyes, so dark and wretched, tore at his heart more than they should have.

"I dare! And with every right too, Your Grace. I defy all your power and shall do so until my end. It can cause my death but never lay the burden of infamy on _my _shoulders."

"You have spoken your own verdict." he stated coldly, dropping her to the floor in a heap of bloodied rags.

"And mine is merciful compared to yours." They were the last words he would ever hear her speak. Words that would haunt him in the coming months as the Blight devoured what he had suffered, bled and been willing to die for to protect.

**FIN**


End file.
